Battle of Zhilino

The Battle of Zhilino was a battle fought on the Eastern Front of World War I in 1916. The battle resulted in a victory for the Central Powers, which captured the town of Zhilino from the Russian army and its Romanian allies.

An Austro-Hungarian Army brigade of five regiments, reinforced by two Imperial German Army reserve infantry regiments and a Bulgarian brigade, was dispatched by German high command to recapture the East Prussian town of Zhilino from the Imperial Russian Army. The town was defended by two regular (frontovik) regiments, two cossack regiments, three Romanian regiments, and a Latvian rifle regiment. The ensuing battle saw the Austro-Hungarian Infanterie-Regiment Graf Clerfayt No. 9 repel several Russian and Romanian attacks through the woods, where the Allies were met by blistering rifle fire. While the Allied forces suffered heavy losses while emerging from the woods, the Central Powers infantrymen advanced on their flanks and secured their strongholds both in the forest and at a creek crossing, endangering the Russian headquarters. Ultimately, the Russians were defeated and forced to withdraw from Zhilino, leaving the town in German hands once again.